A method and apparatus of the type of the first embodiment are the subject of the European patent application No. 81 101440.6. That system includes a sealed-off discharge chamber that has flow channels, nozzles, valves, diaphragms, and the like so that each of the pressure or temperature changes occurring during an electrical discharge triggers a cycle of a circuit in a direction which is determined by the mechanical means.
An apparatus that uses pressure fluctuations to circulate gas is the subject, among others, of the DE Offenlegungsschrift No. 27 53 304. However, in this otherwise quite practical system, the gas escapes in the same amount through the right and left recesses of the discharge chamber during an electrical discharge. The gas flow is brought about separately by a gas transporter disposed in the second adjacent chamber or a given direction is impressed on the moving gas molecules.